Government should have no part in controlling the suffering and pain of a person. That they should, is a hang over from the days when the church and government were one. We have progressed beyond this point. Responsibility for the decision concerns no one but the patient and ones doctor, maybe with a second opinion from another doctor. Peter Reed, Clayton, Georgia

I am so weary of this ridiculous argument about pressure being put on the elderly to submit to euthanasia. Where are all these people who are so inhuman that they would walk away from the deathbed of a parent with a look of relief or happiness on their faces? I've never met anyone who wasn't stricken with grief at the loss of a loving parent - and having to acquiesce in a loved one's suicide would make the situation even harder, not easier. Colin Shearman, London

How many people would choose to die this way without any peer or societal pressure? The risk is aggravated by the removal of the barrier between life and death. Perhaps "assisted suicide" comes down to making the act of dying banal. It used to take such courage that one could only commit suicide if everything seemed, indeed, lost. Now, a couple of pills, a glass of water, and the task is done. I understand that those suffering a most painfully slow death choose to end it earlier; but for a few such cases, how many will feel obliged to end their lives early? Assisted suicide must not be a sacrifice, but a personal, deliberate choice. Therefore, legalising assisted suicide may provoke peer pressure over death. S.G., France

Time and again in the assisted-suicide debate one hears the "slippery slope" argument: allow terminally-sick people the means to end it all, at a time of their choosing, then anyone that is chronically ill might then feel obliged to follow suit, whether pressured by relatives or not. The argument has merit, and cannot be lightly dismissed. But like most arguments that take a cynical and pessimistic view of human nature, it underestimates the power of the modern media to reduce emotionally-charged or dubious situations to simple morality tales, labelled in ways that can be instantly recognised, which then serve as alarm signals. If, for example, you said to a married woman about to go on holiday alone, “Now you’re not going to do a Shirley Valentine on us, are you ?”, she would know exactly what you meant. By the same token, any abuse in the future of new legislation that sanctioned assisted suicide would almost certainly be dramatised as an addictive storyline in one of the TV soaps, and acquire a catchy tag. Trust our society to find a condemnatory metaphor, such that any bedridden person who felt he or she was being pressured to end it all would merely have to whisper it, whether tongue-in-cheek, or as black humour, to silence the serpent tongues. A social and legal climate would quickly develop that made it unthinkable to pressure anyone to end their lives prematurely. Colin Berry, Antibes

All kinds of debates related to death become much easier if one develops a more pragmatic view about the subject. We are all mortal, we're born, we live and then we die. That's it, nothing more, nothing less. In 2004, according to the Office for National Statistics, more than 500,000 deaths were registered. Yes that's right - half a million people died in England and Wales in just one year. For the family and friends of those concerned it is usually traumatic but life goes on. So to answer the question, yes assisted suicide should be allowed in the UK - it is inhumane to force people who want to go to suffer a long lingering death. Paul Pickering, Camberley

In an ideal world we would be able to choose to end our lives in dignity and not pain, however the potential for abuse is just too high. In this country you do have the choice not to be resuscitated and advanced cancer patients can self administer morphine but when a person is too ill to make the final decision no one should make it for them. Unfortunately the line between voluntary and involuntary euthanasia is just too fine. Emily Richards, London

Having watched my granddaughter die of cancer over a period of two years, my daughter dying suddenly of a brain clot, my wife dying of cancer over two years and asking repeatedly in the last six months to die, now finally a dear dignified friend taking seven years, the last three of which he wanted and asked to die, I have no doubts whatsoever. We have the right to determine our own life and death. No politician has the right to stop us, and no lawyer to build his fortune on the argument. Name withheld, Yate

There should be safeguards to ensure vulnerable people are protected but a person of sound mind should be able to make the decision for themselves. One could argue that it is perverse artificially to extend the life of a suffering, terminally ill patient by use of medical science. My own mother of 90 years took a massive stroke one night and the medics fought to revive her, even though she would have been impaired. Fortunately, they failed and she ended a long happy life the way she had always wanted. Marjory Rimes, York

I consider it to be a sad reflection on society that we consider dying naturally from a disabling, terminal illness undignified. People who do so surely deserve our upmost respect and die with their dignity entirely intact. Name and address withheld

Legalisation of euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide should be allowed, with strict guidelines. Dr Turner was an intelligent, rational and brave woman. She chose to die with dignity and with her family around her. The people who think they know best cannot decide how that terminally ill person feels inside - that degrading feeling of heavily relying on someone else for all their care needs. A proud gentleman who battled through World War Two would not feel comfortable with a young woman having to wipe his bottom like a child. Seeing your child battle through the agonies of treatments for a terminal disease, crying in pain, is no life. There is no dignity or quality of life in that. When our beloved pets are sick and have no quality of life, we gently put them to sleep so they are free from pain. So why put humans through all this suffering? My Mum died at 36 years old from a massive brain tumour. Had she lived, she would have been in a physically vegetative state. At 36, would she have wanted to spend the rest of her days with her mind still active but unable to physically react? I don't think so. Her last coherent words were that she wanted to go as she couldn't bear to be in such a state. My Dad, my siblings and I have discussed this many times over the years and are all in agreement that we would have contacted a clinic such as Dignitas to help her. Such is my strong belief in this that in my will I have left strict instructions that I would like to be "put to sleep". My husband understands this completely. Lucy Lane, Potters Bar

Everyone should have the right to end their own lives if they feel it truly necessary. The right to assisted suicide should be a human right but decided with great consideration and with the help of professionals. We should all have the right to die with dignity. Sally Watson, address withheld

I worked with a 24-year-old female for six months who was dying of juvenile Huntington’s Disease, a hereditary condition, and metastatic cancer. She was able to communicate through writing and minimal speech when we first met and she relayed her fear of suffering the way her father had done from the same disease. I cared for her weekly from then until the day she died. She lost the ability to communicate, eat, raise her head and perform any function independently. As she was so young her organs were resilient to the diseases and she outlived her life expectancy by four months. She had syringe drivers keeping her continually medicated on Ketamine and Morphine, and she was kept at a low level of sedation for her final two months. This experience has compounded my belief that there should be a practice in place to allow people with terminal illness to end their lives when quality of life and dignity are overtaken by pain, suffering and terminal illness. Joanna Cartwright, Kettering

I have an incurable brain disease, use a wheelchair, and have speech and swallowing problems. I know exactly why assisted suicide should be made legal. The people who advocate palliative care do not live in the real world. Terry Burdes, Westbury